


trial by fire

by omoiyaris



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Spies & Secret Agents, M/M, Mild Blood, Minor Injuries, Minor Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-19 08:06:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29871651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/omoiyaris/pseuds/omoiyaris
Summary: Following his partner's departure from international espionage agency AEGIS, handler Iwaizumi Hajime is reassigned to work with the infamous Agent 11, Ushijima Wakatoshi. Taciturn, unfriendly, and no-nonsense, Ushijima is the opposite of Oikawa in every way, but Iwaizumi is determined to make their new partnership work no matter the cost.
Relationships: Iwaizumi Hajime & Oikawa Tooru, Iwaizumi Hajime/Ushijima Wakatoshi
Comments: 4
Kudos: 23





	trial by fire

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a very hot minute since I first conceived of this fic, and I'm excited to finally have the chance to post it as part of the [Haikyuu Big Bang](https://twitter.com/_hqbb)!
> 
> A huge shout out to Miranda ([@mirandarv17](https://twitter.com/mirandarv17)) who made a phenomenal piece to accompany this fic. You can check it out [here!"](https://i.ibb.co/xzzcQcz/m-VBQp-Wz-X-jpg-large.jpg)
> 
> Updates will happen every other week on Sunday!

“Don’t miss me too much, Iwa-chan,” Oikawa coos, draping an arm around his shoulders and nuzzling his face into the crook of Hajime’s neck. His breath smells of alcohol; Hajime doesn’t know how long he’s been drinking here alone at the bar, but if he had to wager a guess, he’d say too long.

As usual, the _Blue Castle_ is empty. Matsukawa is slouched behind the counter, idly scrolling through his phone. He’d looked up briefly when Hajime arrived, but lost interest when he realized Hanamaki wasn’t with him. One of these days, Hajime is going to figure out what the hell is going on with those two, but it probably won’t be today—or anytime soon.

Oikawa was already tucked into a booth in the corner when he arrived, with a couple of empty bottles of sake lying on the table in front of him. _Celebrating_ , Hajime figures. He might’ve asked Oikawa why he got started without him, but then they made eye contact as Hajime approached the booth, and something in his chest tightened under the weight of Oikawa’s stare.

So he swallowed his words and took a seat next to Oikawa instead, and watched him slip into a persona Hajime’s well-acquainted with. He used to admire Oikawa’s versatility once. He supposes he still does, in a way. It definitely makes the evening less awkward.

“You’re not at liberty to use my real name, Agent 13,” Hajime replies, shrugging him off. AEGIS takes protocol seriously; agents aren’t supposed to know anything personal about their handlers, but he’d be hard pressed to come up with something about him that Oikawa isn’t familiar with. 

Still, there’s something nostalgic about knowing that this is the last time—the last time they’ll be sitting here as Agent 13 and Agent H, as _Oikawa Tooru_ and _Iwaizumi Hajime_. Working with Oikawa for these past eight years has been something of an ordeal, but now that he’ll be someone else’s problem, Hajime is filled with a sense of loss, the dull ache of a bittersweet farewell spreading through his body.

Oikawa feels it too. His eyes are tight around the corners, his smile a touch too strained to be believable. “Iwa-chan, how _cold_. I gave you the best years of my life!”

“You gave me a stomach ulcer,” Hajime corrects, counting on his fingers, “and high blood pressure, and generalized anxiety—”

“We gave each other a lot of other things too!” Oikawa is quick to bat his hand away. “Experiences, memories, blowjobs—“

Matsukawa looks up and squints in their direction at the mention of blowjobs. “Don’t fuck in my bar, please,” he says, and waits for Hajime and Oikawa to acknowledge his request before turning back to his phone. 

Face burning, Hajime reaches for a half-full bottle of sake and pours himself a glass. “Shittykawa, shut up.”

“Was that a secret?” Oikawa blinks innocently. “I think I mentioned it in my exit interview.”

Hajime can feel the beginnings of a familiar headache creeping in. Oikawa is still pressed too close, the curve of his mouth betraying his amusement. Hajime glances down at him; a familiar sensation flutters in his stomach in response to Oikawa’s heavy-lidded gaze and flushed face, then immediately dissipates when Oikawa pulls away and winks. 

“I can’t wait till you’re gone,” he grits out. 

“Aw, you don’t mean that, Iwa-chan.” Oikawa pauses, his voice deceptively casual as he traces a circle on the tabletop with a finger. Fishing for information he isn’t entitled to anymore, but knows Iwaizumi will give him anyway. “Who are they assigning to you now?”

“Uh, I can’t remember.” Hajime pulls out his phone to check, then grimaces. “Agent 11.”

“You’re kidding me. _Ushiwaka_?” 

“You’re not at liberty to use _his_ name either, Oikawa,” Hajime says dryly, putting his phone back in his pocket. For as long as he can remember, Agent 13 and Agent 11 have been at each other’s throats—or, that’s the generous way to look at it. Oikawa’s been at Ushijima’s throat from the start of his tenure at AEGIS, while Ushijima doesn’t seem to care. 

Being Oikawa’s friend and handler means that neutrality is not an option. Hajime’s gotten pulled into the rivalry on occasion, though he doesn’t have anything personal against Ushijima.

Sighing, he takes a sip of his drink. “Look, it’s not like I’m thrilled about it, but we’re both professionals. Shouldn’t be that much of an issue.” Oikawa looks dubious, and Hajime adds, “He’s not you though. You know I’d prefer to—” _be with you_ , he doesn’t say, because Oikawa’s made his choice and Hajime promised to be supportive of it. 

“Hm,” Oikawa says thoughtfully. He rests his head on Hajime’s shoulder and closes his eyes. “Of course he’s not me. He’s not handsome enough.” 

“That your only selling point?” Hajime smirks, and Oikawa chuckles but doesn’t move. 

“You tell me, Iwa-chan.” Exhaling, Oikawa pinches the bridge of his nose. “Are you really not going to miss me?” 

It’s the most honest question Oikawa has asked Hajime in years. It’s also completely fucking _unfair_ of him to spring it on Hajime now, his tone soft and wistful in a way life has never allowed them to be. Hajime’s grip tightens around his glass, his knuckles white. He hesitates for a moment, then rests his head against Oikawa’s and sighs. “Of course I am, dumbass.” 

He can sense Oikawa smile and feels the corners of his own mouth lift in response. He wonders if he’ll ever be able to keep himself from missing Oikawa. Somehow, he feels like Oikawa won’t have the same problem. If there’s one thing he’s learned, it’s that Oikawa has an almost supernatural ability to compartmentalize and move on. 

But just for tonight, he’ll pretend that this means just as much to him as it does to Hajime.

* * *

His phone goes off at three a.m. with an encrypted message from AEGIS HQ. It takes Hajime a couple of minutes to run it through a decryption program, but it’s simple enough that the process feels like wasted effort. _Come to the Tokyo office ASAP_ , it reads, and nothing else. Because of course it would kill AEGIS to be upfront about what they actually want.

Throwing on some clothes, Hajime shuffles over to _Minerva_ , the boutique that functions as a front for their base of operations. Using his staff pass to access the store through the back door, he makes a beeline for the private fitting room that’s supposed to open up to a flight of stairs descending into their headquarters. 

But when Hajime swipes his card over the hidden reader, nothing happens. “What the fuck,” he mumbles under his breath, swiping again.

Instead of the wall opening up, a familiar voice fills the small room, dry and amused. “Agent H, you have to pretend you’re _actually_ trying on the merchandise.”

“It’s three fucking thirty in the morning, Hanamaki. I’m going to kill you.” 

“Man, were you always this bloodthirsty or are you missing—”

The vein in his forehead snaps. “Hanamaki, I swear to _God_ —”

“Yeah, yeah.” Chuckling, Hanamaki authorizes his entry and Hajime stomps down the stairs. After clearing three levels of security, he finds Semi waiting for him with a furrowed brow, tapping away at something on his tablet. His fierce expression doesn’t abate as he glances up and acknowledges Hajime with a nod.

“Good, you’re finally here,” he says brusquely, taking off down the hallway. Hajime has to lengthen his strides to keep up. “I was beginning to think you were asleep.” 

“I _was_ sleeping,” he mutters. It's a normal thing to do around this time, though Semi looks wide awake and fresh-faced for the hour. “Why did you call me all the way down here?”

Semi stops and wheels around, his eyebrows lifting. “Eh? Didn’t Mizoguchi tell you about your reassignment?”

“He did, but I didn’t expect to get anything to happen at ass o’ clock in the morning.” 

Semi studies Hajime for a moment, then lets out an exasperated sigh. “This is AEGIS,” he says, with a roll of his eyes. “ _Everything_ happens at ass o’clock in the morning. Thought you’d be more used to it, H.” 

Hajime has no response for that, and Semi resumes his power walk down the hallway. “Your new agent just dropped by,” he explains. “The Director wanted the two of you introduced as soon as possible so we can send you out faster.” 

_Shit_. He figured it was for something like that, but still feels unprepared to handle this right now and swallows. “11?”

“Yeah. I don’t know why—” Breaking off, Semi comes to a stop in front of the infirmary. “Honestly, I don’t see why this couldn’t have waited till the morning,” he grumbles, more for his own benefit than for Hajime’s. “Anyway.” Punching a code into the keypad next to the door, he steps aside to let Hajime through with a reassuring smile. “Play nice.” 

Hajime barely has enough time to process before Semi shoves him inside. The door slides closed behind him with a metallic _click!_ , leaving Hajime standing there blinking dumbly. Grimacing as the smell of disinfectant fills his nose, he casts around for the man of the hour—Agent 11, AEGIS’ very own Ushijima Wakatoshi.

 _There_. Hajime finds him sitting at the edge of a bed with his head hanging low. Ushijima’s shoulder is wrapped in bandages soaked through with blood, and fingers are steepled under his chin as he stares off in deep thought. Clearing his throat, Hajime approaches him slowly. Ushijima looks up with a frown and slowly climbs to his feet. 

“Hello.” Up close and in person, Ushijima is an imposing figure: tall, with broad shoulders and a body of packed muscle, littered with scars that all tell their own story. His boring blue shirt lies at his feet and his khaki pants are streaked with dirt. His brown hair is cropped close and matted with sweat, though he doesn’t seem to mind. Expression impassive, he holds a hand out for Hajime to shake as his eyes sweep over him clinically. “I am Agent 11.”

Hajime shakes his clammy hand; Ushijima’s grip is stronger than he expects it to be. For all his bulk and his low, gravelly voice, he’s forgettable. Hajime feels like he could pass him in a crowd and have no recollection of his face. Probably by design. “We’ve met,” he says, forcing a smile. “I’m your new handler. Call me Agent H, or just H is fine. Whichever you prefer.” 

“H,” Ushijima repeats obediently, retracting his hand.

“Sorry to do this here,” Hajime continues, gesturing to their surroundings. He’s not sure why the Director is so eager for them to get familiar with each other. Semi’s right, this could’ve waited until Ushijima got out of the infirmary. “Your shoulder looks pretty banged up. I can come back if you want to—”

“I am fine.” Pausing, Ushijima’s forehead wrinkles as he takes in Hajime’s rumbled shirt and sweatpants with a curry stain near the crotch area. He probably should’ve paid more attention to the clothes he’d picked up off the floor, but—well, hindsight is a bitch. “We’ve met?”

Clearly Ushijima isn’t the only forgettable one here. “Ostrava, ‘18? The HADES job? Things went south there for a bit and you showed up to bail us out.” 

“Ah.” Recognition flickers in his dark eyes. “You were with Agent 13. I only stepped in to help.” 

Oikawa called it a big fuck up, raged about how he could have managed without Ushijima sticking his nose into their mission for days, until Hajime sat him down and told him in no uncertain terms that he was the one who’d contacted Ushijima, and without his interference, Oikawa would have died. Oikawa didn’t take that well. “I was the one who called you. We were acting on some bad intel, so you really saved our asses there.”

Ushijima doesn’t comment further, simply continues to study Hajime with an unreadable expression. From what Hajime’s heard, Ushijima prefers to work alone—that is, no handlers, no support, no back-up. He’s not sure why the agency allows him to go rogue; rumors persist that Ushijima is difficult to work with. Hajime wonders if that’s true. If so—this must be punishment for, oh, _Oikawa’s entire career._  
  
“Agent 13 was a fine agent,” Ushijima says finally, breaking the silence between them. His expression brightens a bit at the mention of Oikawa; it’s slight enough that Hajime might’ve missed it had he not been looking closely. It surprises him—Oikawa treated their animosity like it was mutual, but he can’t sense any hostility emanating from Ushijima at the mention of his name. “I would have liked the opportunity to work with him someday.”

“Yeah, well. Me too.” Is there just _something_ about Oikawa? Some kind of magnetism that draws people to him like moths to a flame? It’s part of what makes him such an effective agent, perhaps, but it sure is strange sometimes to bear witness to it in the aftermath. “He’s moving on. Greener pastures and all.”

Oikawa was characteristically tight-lipped about his ‘transfer’, but from what Hajime was able to pry out of him, he’s going to be working for the Public Security Intelligence Agency from now onward. It’s a reputable national intelligence agency. A far cry from AEGIS, at least, who operate from the shadows around the globe and answer to no government. Oikawa will be suited to it, he thinks. He’s always wanted to go legit.

“Indeed.” Ushijima inclines his head. “A shame.” 

Hajime waits for Ushijima to say anything else, but he seems content to stay silent; averting his eyes, Ushijima rubs his shoulders absentmindedly and presses his lips together. It’ll take some time for Hajime to get used to having a quiet partner. Oikawa was determined to talk his ear off, but Ushijima is not Oikawa, and the sooner he gets used to this new normal, the better. “Well, I look forward to working with you,” Hajime says, with another stiff smile. 

“Likewise.” With that, Ushijima sinks back down onto the bed. 

Hajime takes that as a dismissal, but his feet are heavy and rooted in place. He’s not sure why, but something about Ushijima sucks him in—Hajime wants to understand his new taciturn partner better, because so far, he knows nothing about Agent 11 or the man behind the code name. And Hajime gets the feeling that it’s going to be impossible to build a rapport if he doesn’t take the first step. 

“Where did you come in from?” he asks finally, and Ushijima’s intense gaze swivels back to pin him to the floor. “I’m not asking for any classified details,” Hajime adds quickly, raising both his arms in mock-surrender. “I was just curious; it’s pretty late.” 

“Bari,” is all Ushijima offers, then seems to think better of it. “There were,” he pauses, mouth flattening into a thin line as his expression tightens at the thought of some unpleasant memory. “ _Complications_.” 

Sounds like a shit-show. Hajime gives him a sympathetic look. Their line of work is often like this: fraught with danger and complications. Pulling something off flawlessly and as planned is a goddamn miracle. He and Oikawa made a great team, but even they often ended their missions bloodied and unsatisfied. “If you’re free to go, want to grab a drink with me to blow off some steam?” It’s what he and Oikawa used to do—they’d head down to Blue Castle to decompress after their missions. It helped to go over what they’d done well—and what they’d done _wrong_ —outside of an official report. 

Ushijima stiffens at the invitation. “I am not sure that would be wise,” he says slowly. “Fraternization outside of work is strictly forbidden.” His words are laden with meaning, implications, something _heavy_ that makes Hajime wonder which interpretation of ‘fraternization’ Ushijima seems to be talking about.

Hajime blinks. “I don’t want to, er, fraternize.” Did he look like he fraternized with Oikawa? Is that why Ushijima is looking at him with suspicion? Hajime wants to drag both hands down his face with a groan. “I just thought you might want to vent a bit, that’s all. Since we’re going to be working together, I thought we should probably try to bond.”

Ushijima still looks confused, as if he can’t understand why Hajime would possibly want to do that. “I don’t see why we would need to ‘bond’,” he says plainly. “I am an agent and you are my handler. I will follow whatever instructions you relay to me out in the field. That is all.” 

Ah. Okay. Hajime can see now why Ushijima seems to piss Oikawa off by virtue of simply breathing. Rubbing his temples, he says, “We’re a team, Ushi—Agent 11. We should get to know each other, at least.”

“Everything you need to know about me is in my dossier. I suggest you look over it at your earliest convenience.” There’s no arrogance or irritation in Ushijima’s tone; he’s remarkably matter-of-fact, as if he is in no way personally involved with this whatsoever. Nodding at Hajime, he picks his tattered, bloodied shirt off the floor and pushes past him to exit the infirmary. 

Hajime stares, dumbfounded. “I hauled my ass out of bed at three in the morning for _this_?” he demands of no one in particular. Dr. Sato gives him a pitying smile before returning to her files, leaving Hajime to see himself out—which he does with gusto, gnashing his teeth in frustration.

Ushijima is no Oikawa, that’s for sure, and Hajime’s suddenly concerned about how their new partnership is going to play out.

* * *

The sun’s rising by the time he returns home and throws himself on his bed. Squeezing his eyes shut, Hajime wills himself to fall asleep, but he’s too keyed up to rest now. Rolling over, he reaches for the AEGIS-issued laptop lying on his nightstand and boots it up. 

As much as he hates conceding, Ushijima is right in that he should probably have a look at his file as soon as possible. AEGIS could throw them into the deep end at any moment. He’s assuming the Director’s haste to get them acquainted means _something_ , even if Hajime hasn’t managed to figure out what just yet. 

Reclining with his laptop balanced on his stomach, he finds Ushijima’s file in the database and clicks on it. His eyes linger on the picture—the same man he’d met hours earlier, though this Ushijima looks neater, cleaner, and sports an expression ferocious enough to make children cry. 

His standard information is not all that new. Ushijima Wakatoshi, the same age as Hajime, born in the Miyagi prefecture, AEGIS agent for twelve years, clearance level 4—

Wait, why is he only a clearance level 4? Hajime is level 5 himself. As one of AEGIS’ top agents, he figured Ushijima would be privy to _a lot_ more of the agency’s goings-on than regular members like himself. He scrolls down in search of clues, only to be met with a virtual wall of redacted text.

Irritated, he checks his credentials. He’s logged in as Agent H and is listed as Ushijima’s handler, so why the fuck is most of his file classified? 

Hajime makes a mental note to contact Semi or Mizoguchi about getting this information declassified tomorrow and moves his cursor to log out. It hovers above the bright red X button for several minutes before he moves it away and types _IWAIZUMI HAJIME_ into the search bar instead.

Two entries pop up. 

**IWAIZUMI HAJIME (HANDLER) - _ACTIVE_**  
**IWAIZUMI HAJIME / AGENT 14 (FIELD AGENT) - _INACTIVE_**

Which one of these was Ushijima allowed to read? The one detailing Hajime's two years as a Handler, as one half of one of the top teams in the entire agency, or the one listing his six years as a field agent, laying his biggest mistake—his biggest _fuck up_ —bare for everyone to see with the clearance to access it?

Something tells him that Ushijima isn’t a curious person. He’d probably read the Handler file because that’s what Hajime is now—just the guy in the chair, safe and secure on the sidelines while his agents risk their lives on his instructions. 

He logs out and slams his laptop shut, grinding his teeth so hard he can practically hear it. Sometimes the ghosts of his past rear their ugly heads despite his best efforts to move on. Hajime deals with it, because that’s who he is and that’s what he has to do in order to _do his job,_ but that doesn't mean it's easy to not let himself get dragged down by his own self-doubt.

Oikawa got it. He had ghosts (or in his case, demons) of his own. Hajime could relate to him and let his guard down because he knew Oikawa was usually on the same page he was. 

With Ushijima, he feels the exact opposite. On edge, uncertain—something tells him that relating to the man isn’t going to be an option. Hajime has no idea what's going on in his head, but he needs to learn, and fast. Despite what Ushijima may think, being out in the field isn't as simple as Hajime giving instructions and Ushijima following them. He's learned the hard way that things just doing work that neatly; in order to account for the messiness of their profession, they need to trust each other. _He_ needs to figure out how to build that trust. 

It would just be a lot easier if this reassignment came with a manual. Right now, Hajime feels like he’s been dumped at the start of a race he doesn’t know the rules of—nor does he know where the finishing line is even located. 

“Ushijima Wakatoshi,” he mutters, returning his laptop to his nightstand. It’s not going to be easy to adjust—to Oikawa’s absence _or_ to his new partner, but Hajime’s never been one to back down from a challenge. It’s part of the reason why AEGIS recruited him in the first place. He may lack Oikawa’s sheer audacity, but he doesn’t leave things halfway. 

Hajime will figure out how to make this work. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! You can find me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/bokuto_mp4) or on [Curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/omoiyaris) if you're so inclined!


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